Home owners are still optimistic about their home’s value, despite falling home prices all around them, according to a survey of homeowner confidence conducted by Harris Interactive for Zillow.com According to the survey, 72 percent of home owners believe their home's value has increased or stayed the same in the past year.

The reality is 75 percent of U.S. homes actually decreased in value from the same period a year ago, according to Zillow. In fact, in the first quarter home values dropped 7.7 percent year-over-year, which was the largest year-over-year decline in more than a decade, Zillow points out.

But home owners could be growing more realistic. Since the confidence survey was first conducted last December, home owners show signs they are moving closer to reality as 5 percent more respondents in the first quarter said they think their home value has decreased in the past year compared to those surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Source: Zillow.com